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The curse of the second movie?
Is it me or more often than none (FRWL being the exception confirming the rule), the second Bond movie of an actor is more heavily criticized than the others and is seen as a drop of quality at least when it is released? Independently of what you think of the quality of the movie itself (I like QOS, for instance). After TMWTGG the producers took three years to make TSWLM, LTK was a failure even though it now has its supporters among the fans, TND is often seen as a lesser entry than GE, even by Brosnan who said it was not as good, and QOS is considered lesser than CR, even disappointing by many. Craig himself, although he does defend the movie, admits that QOS was flawed.
So what are the reasons for this ''curse'' of the second movie?
So what are the reasons for this ''curse'' of the second movie?
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Comments
Neither do I think CR is flawed.
Its all a matter of perspective.
Tommorow Never Dies, From Russia With Love and Licence to Kill are all good films
The Man with The Golden Gun is okay....but very tacky
I don't agree either, but there was a huge discussion a few months ago. I'll see if I can find it.
Connery- Goldfinger
Moore- The Spy Who Loved Me
Brosnan- The World is Not Enough
Craig- Skyfall
All of these movies (even with their flaws) are rather brillaint especially Connery and Moore's Films
I already said FRWL is the exception to the rule. And it has nothing to do with the quality of the movies, but the perception of the public, critics AND people involved making them. TMWTGG is often considered Moore's worst, or at least one of his lesser ones and they took three years to make TSWLM. LTK was the least profitable Bond movie, it was not appreciated on its release and there was a six years gap between it and GE. Dalton seemed unhappy about it too, at least to a degree. Brosnan thought TND was not as good as GE. And QOS although financially successful (I personally enjoy it) was often seen as lesser than CR and suffered from a scriptwriters strike.
I am astonished that anyone can think Goldfinger, TSWLM, TWINE or Skyfall suffer from some form of curse.
:-))
Connery had the easiest job since there was no formula and a mountain of Fleming to work with. Lazenby's 2nd would have been an interesting one in my humble opinion and the one thing missing in this franchise that would have been very interesting.
Moore's second one suffered from finding the right tone for Roger Moore's version of 007, he did nail it with his third.
Daltons second movie also suffered from finding the right tone for his version of 007, it was way too generic and Miami Vice and not enough 007. And they did not get to make the movie they really wanted to make due to studio troubles. Perhaps a 3rd movie of Dalton would be his swansong.
Brosnans 2nd attempt was not too shabby, imho his second movie was in quality not any less than his 1st movie. I find that Brosnans movies were quality wise quite similar, only his performance did get better through the movies.
Craigs 2nd one did suffer due to a script that makes no sense at times, a director that is not versed in action movies and a 2nd director and editor that did a Jason Bourne pastiche on this movie. It could have been a great attempt but in the end the director failed to make it a coherent piece, now we have great moments in a mudpool.
There is in my opinion no 2nd movie curse only the attempts of giving the various actors a consequent style of their own some are better than others. Only Craig was unlucky due to circumstances.
^Couldn't have said it better.
Haha ,
Strategically missed a movie , I see ! :))
Very much agree.
You Only Live Twice begot On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Moonraker begot For Your Eyes Only
Die Another Day begot Casino Royale
... and we will undoubtedly reach this point again
Dr. No, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Live and Let Die, The Living Daylights, Goldeneye and Casino Royale are usually all seen favorably for one reason or another.
Connery - Diamonds Are Forever
Moore - A View To A Kill
Dalton - Licence To Kill (though i still think it's good film)
Brosnan - Die Another Day
We could safely say that for actors with 3 or more movies the last one is the worst one. And I'm sorry for Craig because of this "law".
You could say that...but not "safely," because others would disagree. I, for one, place YOLT far below DAF. And I sometimes fluctuate about whether AVTAK or MR is Moore's worst (AVTAK is definitely the crummier movie, but Walken's presence elevates it somewhat).
No argument about DAD, though.
You don't actually believe in this mumbo-jumbo do you? It is just a coincidence, where most of the actor's final films weren't that great critically. There is not a curse in any sense, especially when considering that whether or not the Bond films are hailed critically they are a financial success even at their worst.
I already said FRWL was the exception, and anyway regardless of the quality one personally gives to the movies, TMWTGG was rushed and the promotional campaign was poor and is in general seen as one of the weaker Moore entries, and it preceded a much more popular Bond film that defined his tenure. LTK is now loved by many fans, but it was seen as a failure when it was released, the least successful Bond, TND was seen as lesser than GE, so was QOS.
Of course, when I say ''curse'', I do not mean literally, but there is an pattern here and I am trying to see if it can be explained.
I don't think it is so much a coincidence as something to be expected after a number of times: lack of creativity, fear of breaking a winning formula, etc.
NOES 2 (I kinda like it though)
F13 , part 2 (underrated imo)
Jaws 2 (OK on it's own but not up to par with original)
And for each of those we get another like:
Spider-man 2
The Dark Knight
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Toy Story 2
Scream 2
The Empire Strikes Back
The Bourne Supremacy